We'll Still Be Here (When It's All Said And Done)
by NationWide33
Summary: In which Barry visits Kara's universe twice, and confuses everyone both times. Also, he should really start remembering the differences between all the worlds. It's getting him into trouble. SuperCorp/Karlena.


Sometimes, Barry Allen forgets the little differences between worlds.

There are worlds with smaller contrasts, like his favorite coffee shop being on the other side of the street or advancements in technology that make gum flavors last longer. Then there's the universes that differ from each other so much there's no confusing them.

Kara's world is somewhere in between. Gum still gets cardboardy depressingly fast, and his favorite coffee place is right where he left it, but there are a few major differences, mainly Supergirl and her cousin, Superman.

Kara Danvers and Clark Kent exist in his universe, but they aren't Kryptonian, and they've never met (that he knows of).

Sometimes, he sees something so consistent, something that exists in every, or almost every, world he's visited, and he forgets that he shouldn't assume it will always be there.

And so the first time he comes looking for Lena Luthor at Kara Danvers' apartment, he doesn't even stop to think that they may not know each other, or that the CEO may not exist in this universe.

Kara is standing in her kitchen, heating up a mug of hot chocolate (_It's totally an adult drink, Alex!_) with her heat vision when a loud knock breaks her focus and she almost incinerates her dining table. It's early in the morning—so Kara figures it's probably her sister stopping by with breakfast.

Even still, she pulls down her glasses to look through the door. Seeing her friend standing awkwardly on the other side while slipping on his glasses, having obviously just changed out of his suit, she breaks into a grin and pulls the door open a little too hard.

"Barry!" She beams, waving him inside. "Come on in!"

"Actually, I'm only just stopping by," The Flash replies. "Is Lena here?"

"Who?" Kara asks, her brow furrowing at him. She wonders if she has a roommate in Barry's world. She's a human there, which she's a little jealous of sometimes.

"Lena Luthor?" He replies, waving his hands as though his movements will help her understand. Kara narrows her eyes. She knows the Luthor name, but she's never heard of a Lena Luthor.

"Yeah, who?"

Barry freezes for a second, which looks weird on a man who's always moving. He begins to backtrack as quickly as possible, which for him, is quite fast.

"Nevermind, sorry. I'll see you later, okay? Okay. Bye!" He zooms away, leaving Kara standing in her doorway with a lukewarm cup of cocoa and a mildly baffled expression.

_Weird, _she thinks. _Then again, it is Barry._

* * *

The second time Barry comes looking for the CEO of LCorp, he makes sure ahead of time that she exists in this universe.

"Hey, does Lena Luthor exist in this world?" He asks Alex Danvers. The agent gives him a curious (suspicious) look, but confirms it. Unfortunately for Barry, this is not where the conversation ends.

"Yeah, why?" Alex asks, narrowing her gaze and crossing her arms. Barry gulps. Alex is _scary_.

"Well, I figured she could help me get home. Usually she does that when I get stuck—hey!" His brief, and interrupted, explanation is all it takes to alarm Alex Danvers, who slams him against the wall, _hard_, and demands: "Why do you want help from a Luthor?"

"Lemme go!" He whines, half-heartedly struggling. He could flash out of there if he really wanted to, and considering Alex is definitely very capable of killing him in extremely creative ways, he probably should, but he doesn't really want to piss her off even more, so he stays put.

The DEO agent sighs irritably but releases him, and in turn, Barry answers her question without really thinking about the answer much (at all).

"Well she's really good at helping me when I manage to get stuck in other universes. Even in the ones where she doesn't know me, she's interested enough in the multiverse and travel between worlds that she helps anyway. Wait—why are you calling her that? She's not a Luthor anymore, hasn't been for a while, she's a—"

At the startled look on Alex's face, he changes track _very _rapidly.

"—Ahhhh, I mean, Luthor. She's a Luthor. Obviously. Of course."

He cringes, but doesn't have much time to think about his terrible cover-up before he's once again pinned to a wall.

"Okay, this is getting old," he complains.

"What did you say?" Alex demands, and he shrinks back away from her. "She's a what?"

"Nothing, definitely nothing. I mean, not nothing, she's obviously something, but that something would be a Luthor. 100% Luthor."

Alex growls a little, and Barry makes a tiny noise in fear and resists the urge to _run like hell_.

"A Danvers," he relents, coming to the conclusion that the life of Lena in his universe (and most of the universes he's been to, not that Alex needs to know that) won't really change her life in this one.

Alex backs away, letting him fall away from the wall. He rubs at his arm where she'd grabbed him, and doesn't notice her palm approaching his face.

It smacks him _really really hard_, and he squeaks as he stumbles back a little. She's wearing anger in her eyes that terrifies Barry quite a lot, and he makes himself small and backs up until he bangs his head against the wall. _Ouch._

"You're lying!" She growls. "I don't know what's happened in your universe, but in this one, my sister isn't dumb enough to go anywhere near that woman. So don't even think about spreading that bullshit to her, understood?"

_Definitely understood._

* * *

Once again, it's far too early in the morning when Barry raps on Kara's door, but this time, she doesn't bother to pull her glasses down to find out who it is before flipping the lock and pulling it open, straining the poor hinges.

"Barry!" She brightens, pulling the man into a fierce hug. "I didn't expect to see you! What are you doing here?"

"I'm kinda stuck in your universe again," He says sheepishly. "But I'm _here _here because I'm looking for Lena Luthor."

Kara goes red and stutters a little.

"Why—um—why would you—would you think she's—uh—here?"

There's an awkward little pause in which Kara looks everywhere but at Barry.

Luckily, the silence is broken by the woman he's looking for, who has chosen that moment to step out of Kara's bedroom and head into the kitchen, slipping in an earring and reaching to pull a mug from the cupboard above the sink. Kara offers Barry a weak smile.

"Well, you found her," She says. "How'd you know she'd be here?"

She gestures Barry into the apartment, shutting the door as Lena approaches them after setting her coffee on the table.

"Hello, it's lovely to meet you. I'm Lena. Who are you?" She asks, and Barry pulls his friend (who doesn't actually know him, but he's not thinking about that) into a hug. With a little squeak of surprise, Lena fights him for a second. He pulls away and waltzes further into the apartment.

"I'm Barry, Kara's coolest superhero friend," he starts, and Kara doesn't bother telling him that he's really not. "And Kara, to answer your question, I kinda just guessed. You guys live together in my universe, and honestly most of the universes I've seen, so I figured this was the best place to look."

"Oh, cool!" Kara grins, turning towards Lena, who's back by the table, retrieving her coffee. "We're roomies!"

"Well not exactly," Barry says, before wincing as he realizes he's dug himself deeper into a hole he promised himself he'd cover up after his terrifying conversation with Alex. The bruises from her grip haven't faded yet, even with his speedy healing.

"What do you mean?" Lena speaks up, sipping her drink while looking at Barry apprehensively over the rim of the mug.

Barry pauses this time before he speaks. Telling them the truth seems like a bad idea, but he's honestly not sure he'll make it out of here without saying it. He is very familiar with Lena's persuasive abilities. It's honestly a little concerning how easily he caves under interrogation.

"Well…first, please don't hit me. Second, I've actually seen you as roommates once or twice, but usually you're, well," He swallows hard, "Married. Or dating, or…stuff like that."

Baffled, Kara replies: "Why would I hit you?"

"That's what you focus on in that sentence?" Lena speaks up, her voice unbelieving. Like she isn't sure she believes Kara would ever marry her. Barry sighs inside. He knows Lena's been through a lot. But Kara helps her.

"Well yeah, I mean, the rest isn't really that surprising," Kara says, her cheeks a little red. Lena's eyes go shiny, and she smiles at Kara with so much affection that Barry decides he's absolutely certain they'll have that future in this world, too.

When the room is silent for a moment, Barry pipes up.

"Your sister is violent," He tells Kara quietly, as a way of explaining his '_please don't hurt me' _comment. "I just assumed things were like that here, you know, 'cause they usually are, and she hit me with a wall and then smacked me _really hard_."

He pauses, and admits: "_It still kinda hurts."_


End file.
